The Hair Artiste: Illeisha Lussiano

*This article was originally published in Beautystack Magazine Issue 1*

“Whether you’re a hair stylist or beautician, we all know when we sign up for this that people are going to brush us off,” says hairstylist Illeisha Lussiano. “People are going to downplay your creativity, your vision and your skill, but beauty wasn’t a second choice for me because I wasn’t academic, it was my first choice. I was five years old and hair styling was my choice. By the time I got to 18, I had been through so many filters of the world - people telling me what I should or shouldn’t do, but somehow, I just followed my intuition and I got where I’m supposed to be.”

Illeisha Lussiano has well and truly found her calling. Her moniker, The Hair Artiste, paints the portrait of a creative - adaptable and innovative with her work. Over the past ten years, Illeisha has blossomed from a Boston-born beauty lover, to a mainstay in the New York beauty landscape, creating looks for Kelela, Lil Yachty, A$AP Rocky, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, and many more. As we speak on the phone, she’s a beacon of positive energy; her fire for her work and her belief in her message is infectious - her voice enchanting as it boils over in animation. She is self-assured yet humble; I can see why so many of her clients call her a friend.

We talked at length about being underestimated as a black woman in beauty; representation on every level, and how a My Size Barbie kickstarted her love affair with hair.

How did you discover your passion for hair styling?

Hair is something that always came naturally to me. I got a My Size Barbie for my birthday one year and for whatever reason, it just didn’t look right to me. I took it upon myself to give her a bob haircut. When my mom found it, she took off the hat I’d put on its head and was like ‘oh my god…this is the best bob I’ve ever seen’. Instead of being reprimanded, I was encouraged for something I had done creatively.

My mother is Italian and her hair is straight, my hair is very curly as I’m both Italian and African-American. Being a young black girl growing up with an Italian mum led to some interesting hair moments, but it became something really sacred between us. She did the absolute most to educate herself and make hair time fun. My mum made it so special, and my family really facilitated my passion once they saw that I loved to do hair. 

By the time I had done a semester in college studying art, I knew it wasn’t for me. I sent myself off to beauty school, but I approached it with the same seriousness that I would put into becoming a lawyer or a doctor. There was no other option, I wanted to be the best of the best.

Once you’d graduated from beauty school, how did your journey take you from Boston to New York City?

I started out working in Boston where I grew up. I was at one of the top salons in the city at the time, and I was working with some really tremendous people. I really came into my own in that place, but it’s like replanting a flower, I needed to grow and evolve.

I didn’t have a car, so LA was not an option. I started researching New York, trying to find someone I wanted to work for and learn from. I found this really dope lady – Amoy Pitters - Naomi Campbell was a client of hers for twelve years. I wanted to work for her – so I showed up on her doorstep and said she needed to hire me. For whatever reason, she gave me an interview on the spot and the next day they offered me a job.

The only issue was, I had to start the following day. I had eight hours’ notice to move to New York and start some trial days at the salon. My parents and I drove to NYC and stayed in a hotel for a few days, and I worked. I took the train by myself for the first time, I found an apartment and within 5 days, I had gone from living and working in Boston, to living and working in NYC. If you want it, you’ve got to manifest it and you have to go out and get it. The biggest thing is believing in yourself – that is the game changer.

I’ve been in NYC ever since – I’ve been my own boss, worked for other people, had my own studio space, and now it’s just that moment of figuring out what’s next. All my goals have been checked off the list. I wanted to work in a top salon in NYC, to have my work in magazines and commercials, and to have my own space. I’ve done all that in the past three years. I’m just trying to carve out my lane, so I can encourage others to come after me.

What does your typical week look like? How do you balance your work in the salon with your freelance editorial work?

For the most part it works out well. Every week is different when you’re doing both salon work and editorial work. I think it’s so important to be with my salon family. I care about every single person who sits in my chair, I listen to everything that comes out of their mouth. I value that trust and I genuinely love it. It’s fantastic to have two days in the salon and one on set, and then back to the salon and then on a music video shoot.

I want to facilitate that kind of work for others - give others opportunities. I don’t think learning should have to involve suffering – not for a trade. Unfortunately, in this industry it happens a lot, assistants are treated badly. I think that’s why a lot of people don’t feel like they can do editorial or explore their options, because they’ve been told they don’t have the choice.

You’ve worked with some incredible people, what’s been the highlight for you so far?

Celebrity clients are great when you know them on a human level. But recently, I had a lovely six year old called Christian come and see me. He had seen Michael B Jordan in Black Panther and wanted dreadlocks to match. We got some snacks in, had a chat and started his journey. It was so amazing to be around this young kid who knew what he wanted to do, he knew how he saw himself. I’ve been working with people of all ages for so many years, but he was my youngest client. To see how much faith he had in himself, it was just so sacred. Magazines are cool, but those are the moments really.

You’ve spoken about walls you’ve come up against in the industry, down to representation and racism, can you tell us about that?

I get it a lot when I’ll show up to a shoot and they assume I can only work with women of colour. For me, hair is hair, I work with everyone. When I get on set and they try to limit me, or they think that women of colour can only have one hairstyle, it’s infuriating. People keep asking me to do braids, but we’ve been doing braids for five years now, we don’t want to do braids anymore. Just because I’m brown, that doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I can do. It’s very important to make people on shoots or in salons feel comfortable – no matter what their backgrounds are. All the information is out there to educate yourself, but people are lazy.

Do you think the beauty industry still has a long way to go in terms of representation?

The beauty industry has issues on every single level, even just the male/female ratio. It’s damn near impossible to get to certain levels because they’re just occupied by older, white men. They might hire you to work for them, but they’ll pass your work off as theirs. If my work is good enough for that man to claim, it’s good enough for me to use for myself. The beauty world can be a tricky place to navigate, and it’s so insulting that people don’t take it seriously. There’s so many talented people out there who deserve a chance, and deserve to be paid and encouraged.

How does your work make you feel?

My work makes me feel full, it gives me a very full heart. Usually you can see it - I was on a shoot a few weeks ago and everyone said I was radiating, I looked so happy. Seeing my visions come to life is like being a little kid again. It genuinely makes me so happy.

You mentioned you’re in a transition phase, trying to work out your next move - can you let us in on your future plans? 

I’m trying to build up the ultimate vision for what I have next – it’s secret, but I’ve had the idea since I was ten. It’s continuing to pave the way. I don’t see representation, both in people and environments. I want to help other creatives. I want you to be from anywhere in the world, but when you come to NYC, you know you have a spot to come to - a safe space and a place for self-discovery, to evolve your identity and let your hair down. You’ll know that people are there to help you become you - in ways you always wanted or never knew you could.